Uncrewed Systems Technology 047 l Aergility ATLIS l AI focus l Clevon 1 UGV l Geospatial insight l Intergeo 2022 report l AUSA 2022 report I Infinity fuel cell l BeeX A.IKANBILIS l Propellers focus I Phoenix Wings Orca

58 Insight | Geospatial surveys surfaces of a wind turbine where the reflectance would otherwise impact the model quality,” Klusak adds. “There are further tricks we can perform using our software. For example, in powerline mapping, we can buffer and colour-code the surrounding vegetation to show end-users how close the leaves are getting; anything red or maybe orange is where they need to start trimming to prevent contact with the cables. “We’ve also carried out photogrammetry on the side of a dam, with a resolution of 0.5 mm that enables us to see every single stone and crack. That is really important for the dam operators when they want to survey for change detection to see where damage is accumulating over time.” Ice exploration As well as measuring for changes in infrastructure qualities over time, geospatial data can provide crucial real-time information for explorers in extreme environments. Orthodrone has for instance used its aforementioned UAS to survey the ice around shipping routes for reflectance values (using a Riegl Lidar payload), with the resulting reflectivity analysis providing actionable information on where a given class of ship can navigate safely and where icebreaker assistance is needed. “When analysing a 3D point cloud model including the ice’s reflectance, this not only allows us to take measurements of the ice surface’s geometry such as ridges, cracks and the general surface of the lead, it also helps the ship’s crew to gain a good understanding of the surface material – be it water, snow, dry or wet ice. All these surface types show distinct differences in reflectance,” Klusak adds. “That’s important, because when the icebreaker’s just sitting there, it’s costing around e 900 per hour, but when it’s assisting a ship, it costs around e 2000 per hour – or roughly e 250 per nautical mile – so surveying with Lidar this way gives them a really good idea of when to move out and when to stay put, saving thousands of euros per hour.” “We use mostly readily available software for our post-processing, but there’s a fair amount of scripting involved with our analyses. We have a couple of data scientists who are very skilled in Python, and we were originally founded as a GIS data analytics company, so we’re familiar with that. But all our original software goes into our r&d department, and is focused on the control and stabilisation of our UAS – it’s the only system on the market where the drone itself is the gimbal.” The gas-hybrid Orthodrone UAS has an MTOW of 25 kg, with about 20 kg in the main body (including payloads) and the other 5 kg in its two arms and the connecting ‘yoke’. This set-up, which is the core of Orthodrone’s hardware IP, will allow the system to be fully stabilised on 2.5 axes during its multi-hour missions. Mine management Progress monitoring is critical for mining project managers to be able to show executives and investors where targets on resource exploration or extraction are being met, and to address where shortfalls are occurring and how they will be fixed. The mining sector is therefore one of the longest-established customers for commercial aerial survey systems, and the Quantum Systems Trinity F90+ UAV in particular is being widely adopted by mining companies for 2D and 3D photogrammetry and mapping. “The Trinity’s design is inherently suited for mining work, as it is able to take off and land vertically near rock faces inside mines and quarries like a multi-rotor December/January 2023 | Uncrewed Systems Technology The Trinity F90+ UAV’s flight time, speed and VTOL capability are making it useful for safe and low-maintenance mappings of mines (Courtesy of Quantum Systems) Analysing a 3D point cloud model that includes the ice’s reflectance helps a ship’s crew to understand the surface material – be it snow or ice